It will soon be time to be looking for damselflies and dragonflies on the reserve. Many are here already, of course, as larvae (nymphs) in the ponds around the reserve. The damselflies (smaller, resting with their wings along their abdomen) will be first to emerge, with large red damselfly and common blue damselfly from mid May onwards. The first dragonflies (larger, resting with their wings at 90 degrees to the abdomen) will emerge in June, usually the Emperor - Europe's largest dragonfly - first to fly.
Later in the summer, we sometimes get a few scarcer dragonflies - such as black darter and golden-ringed dragonfly - that visit from other habitats in the Conwy Valley, and perhaps if we have a hot summer we might be lucky enough to be visited by rare continental dragonflies; in recent years, a number of European species have become more regular visitors to southern Britain, and a couple have colonized. Keep an eye open!
We have published a list of the dragonflies and damselflies recorded at Conwy nature reserve - just click on the link below.
Julian HughesSite Manager, Conwy